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Atlanta Motor Speedway will be repaved after March race weekend

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

HAMPTON, GA - FEBRUARY 28: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet, leads the field past the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 28, 2016 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

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Atlanta Motor Speedway will repave its 1.5-mile surface following its March 3 - 5 NASCAR tripleheader,

The track announced Tuesday that the repave of the asphalt surface will begin in late March and is expected to be finished in mid-April. In November 2015 the track said there were no plans for a repave.

With the second-oldest surface on the NASCAR circuit, Atlanta hasn’t been repaved since 1997 when the track was reconfigured to its current look, which resembles Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

One Cup driver isn’t happy about the news.

Since the repave the track has hosted 31 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, 19 Xfinity Series events, 15 Camping World Truck Series races, eight ARCA Racing Series races and four IndyCar Series races.

The new asphalt surface will be laid down on top of the old surface. The 24-degree banking in the turns will not be changed.

“Many of NASCAR’s greatest moments have occurred on this racing surface, and I have no doubt the world’s best drivers will give it a proper final event before the new surface comes to life,” said track president Ed Clark in a press release. “Whichever driver can take home the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 trophy in 2017 will mark the end of one era of great racing in AMS history and the beginning of another.”

Following the repave, Geoffrey Bodine set the track’s qualifying record in 1997 by pacing the track in 28.074 seconds at an average speed of 197.478 mph.

The only track qualifying records faster than Atlanta’s are:

Daytona International Speedway (210.364 mph, Bill Elliott, 1987)

Talladega Superspeedway (212.809 mph, Bill Elliott, 1987)

Michigan International Speedway (206.558 mph, Jeff Gordon, 2014)

Texas Motor Speedway (200.111 mph, Tony Stewart - round two of three, 2014)

Kansas Speedway (197.773 mph, Kevin Harvick - round two of three, 2014)

The Atlanta repave follows similar projects at Kentucky Speedway and Watkins Glen International in recent years.

With the Atlanta repave, the oldest track surfaces on the Cup Series circuit will be the following:

Dover International Speedway, concrete (1995)

Auto Club Speedway, asphalt (1997)

Chicagoland Speedway, asphalt (2001)

New Hampshire Motor Speedway, asphalt (2002)

For much of the 2000s, Atlanta was known for its many photo finishes, including the first Cup Series wins of Kevin Harvick (2001), Carl Edwards (2005) and the 75th career win of Dale Earnhardt in 2000. Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte by 0.010 seconds.

Follow @DanielMcFadin